Propose away...
Background Noise: On the phone w/ my mom
Last Visited:Porchlight SF
Random Thought: someone from Michigan is a Michigander, not a Michugana or Michiganite or Michiganian.
Mood: where's my "i voted" button?
So! Tomorrow is election day. Normally i don't broadcast how i vote, but since this special election is moderately contentious i figured i'd spread the information. Or something.
Actually, i've been plesantly surprised at the increasing level of discourse the past week about these proposals. A lot of people have been arguing that since each proposal doesn't completely fix whatever problem they address they should be denied. While there are times where that argument works, i don't think that's the case for most of these proposals. The point isn't to fix everything, just some things. Progress happens a step at a time, and sometimes you have to just move forward and figure out what happens next. As William Hazlitt said, "the more we do, the more we can do."
Expression:
Last Visited:Porchlight SF
Random Thought: someone from Michigan is a Michigander, not a Michugana or Michiganite or Michiganian.
Mood: where's my "i voted" button?
So! Tomorrow is election day. Normally i don't broadcast how i vote, but since this special election is moderately contentious i figured i'd spread the information. Or something.
Actually, i've been plesantly surprised at the increasing level of discourse the past week about these proposals. A lot of people have been arguing that since each proposal doesn't completely fix whatever problem they address they should be denied. While there are times where that argument works, i don't think that's the case for most of these proposals. The point isn't to fix everything, just some things. Progress happens a step at a time, and sometimes you have to just move forward and figure out what happens next. As William Hazlitt said, "the more we do, the more we can do."
Expression:
posted by Jane at 11:49:00 AM
3 comments
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3 Comments:
I think I'm going to vote against all the referenda. 79 and 80 are kinda vaguely interesting, but all the rest are evil, evil, evil, evil and evil. (76 is expecially evil since it will essentially cripple what's left of the state budget process. And along with 75 it plays to the conservative anti-educationalist agenda.)
Governing by referenda is a terrible thing. I'd vote for a referendum to amend the constitution to outlaw public referenda, but that's about it. Republican democracy has its problems, but popular democracy is just outright tyranny.
I'm fully for a republican democracy, since, afterall, that's the government we have.
But the california state government is broken. California has some of the worst gerymandered districts period, as evidenced by the fact that no assemblyman lost his or her seat in the last election. The current districts have actually been deemed illegal - so why not redraw them? This would hardly be the first time a redistricting has been done on a non-census year. For that matter, the requirements set down for the 3-retired judge panel are strict enough to produce competitive districts.
Perhaps once representatives who actually represent the interests of their constituents instead of their own are elected the major work can be done.
I agree, legistlation should not be done by proposals and general voting. But in this case, something has to change and this might be the only way for that to happen.
Case in point, prop 76: the state should only spend what it can afford. Yes, this is a power given to the Govenor, but this was a power the govenor had for the majority of the 21st century. The right to limit spending is given to the majority of govenors in this country - in states with better credit ratings than california's for that matter. Former Governor Gray Davis practically begged for this right back during his disastrous time in office. This is hardly a partisan proposal. As one of the tax payers who will have to shoulder the deficit not having spending limits helps promote, i fully support limits. Because, frankly, neither the state nor i can afford not spending within our means.
I think you meant to site 74 as the measure that "plays to the conservative anti-educationalist agenda" whatever that means. Most of my relatives are or have been teachers; many of my friends are or want to be teachers, or have parents who are teachers. I have a feeling that at some point in my life i will be a teacher. That being said, i think tenure for K-12 public education is a crime, a shame, and a leading cause for the educational divide you see between districts.
Currently, all a teacher in the state of california has to do is perform decently for two years and their job is guarenteed for life. Getting rid of them after that point regardless of their performance is difficult - in fact, what normally happens is the bad teachers get tossed around until there's a district that just can't afford to move them.
74 doesn't get rid of tenure or restrict the earning potential of teachers; it simply makes them work a bit harder to prove that they deserve the special treatment afforded by a tenured position.
It isn't an all-encompassing slam on teachers or a cure-all solution to the many varied problems that exist in our school systems. It simply makes it easier to get rid of bad teachers.
Yes, California needs more teachers. But where a child's education is concerned what we need is quality, not quantity.
Then there's 75. Unions shouldn't be able to automatically deduct money from a worker's paycheck for political use. I don't care if there's an "opt out" policy in place now - that's a scam; it's hard to do and at the end of the day you don't get your money back, it's just diverted to a charity. 75 doesn't prevent workers from donating, it just prevents unions from demanding payment.
You're right, some of the proposals are evil: 73, 78, and 80 are fairly heinous from where i stand. Attempting to legislate good parenting through a child is ridiculous. Allowing Pharmaceutical companies to but a decoy proposal on the ballot to prevent 79 from becoming law is slimy in the extreame. And 80? Does no one any good.
Now, many of these proposals aren't perfect. But good shouldn't be prevented because of the desire of an ideal. Yes, the state legislature should be doing this work instead of the people, but at the moment that isn't possible. So what should the populous do? Change the game their playing. The result might not be ideal, but at least it will be different.
Haha, yeah, i didn't really re-read, i pretty much just bitched.
That's always dangerous... you know how much my spelling slips when i'm on a roll. That's what i get for typing too fast.
Have fun in class! *hug*